Authors are far closer to the truths enfolded in mystery than ordinary people, because of that very audacity of imagination which irritates their plodding critics. As only those who dare to make mistakes succeed greatly, only those who shake free the wings of their imagination brush, once in a way, the secrets of the great pale world. If such writers go wrong, it is not for the mere brains to tell them so
Interpretation
This quote highlights the value of imagination and the courage to take risks in creative endeavors, suggesting that true artists understand deeper truths than others.
Gertrude Atherton's quote emphasizes the idea that authors and creators possess a unique insight into the mysteries of life due to their bold imagination. While critics may view their imaginative pursuits as reckless or ungrounded, it is precisely this audacity that allows them to explore profound truths that ordinary people may overlook. The quote also suggests that making mistakes is an integral part of the creative process, and that the exploration of imagination is a pathway to uncovering deeper meanings and insights in the world.
In practice
During a speech at a creative writing workshop, this quote could be used to encourage aspiring writers to embrace their imagination.
Sometimes, when I get a good picture, it feels like I have taken another nervous step into increasingly rarified air. Each good-news picture, no matter how hard-earned, allows me only a crumbling foothold on this steepening climb—an ascent whose milestones are fear and doubt.
A writer has to be driven crazy to help him to see. A writer needs his poisons.
Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken.
I don't want to be owned by a corporation and obliged to make a certain type of album. I want to be free.
My strength is with actors. I think I'm good at working with them to get the best performances, at seeing what it is that they have and that the story needs.
I never wanted to be a painter; I wanted to be a tap dancer.
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